Voters across political spectrum want greater accountability of Tasmanian politicians

Transparency and accountability of politicians and the public service may be one of the sleeper issues of the upcoming state election.

A recent poll of 781 voters in Bass undertaken by ReachTEL on the night of January 16th for The Australia Institute found that 85% of respondents wanted more powers and resources available to Tasmania’s integrity commission to investigate politicians and bureaucrats.

These results indicate a loss of faith in our politicians and institutions. It may be one factor in voters retreating from the two major parties, with all recent polls showing one in four voters nominating parties other than the ALP or Liberals as their first preference.

Question: Do you agree or disagree that Tasmania’s integrity commission should be given more powers and resources to ensure politicians and bureaucrats act honestly and transparently?

Total

Female

Male

18 – 34

35 – 50

51 – 65

65+

Strongly agree

65.3%

59.1%

72.0%

61.0%

55.9%

73.8%

69.6%

Agree

20.4%

22.9%

17.6%

18.0%

25.3%

17.0%

22.0%

Disagree

4.9%

3.9%

5.9%

9.0%

5.4%

2.4%

2.6%

Strongly disagree

2.0%

3.2%

0.8%

6.0%

0.0%

1.5%

0.5%

Unsure

7.4%

10.8%

3.7%

6.0%

13.4%

5.3%

5.2%

Total

Liberal

Labor

Greens

JLN

Other

Und

Strongly agree

65.3%

53.2%

75.4%

81.3%

79.2%

80.0%

67.6%

Agree

20.4%

29.7%

14.5%

7.5%

4.2%

20.0%

18.9%

Disagree

4.9%

6.7%

5.8%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

Strongly disagree

2.0%

1.1%

0.0%

7.5%

8.3%

0.0%

0.0%

Unsure

7.4%

9.4%

4.3%

3.8%

8.3%

0.0%

13.5%

Previous analysis from The Australia Institute found Tasmania’s integrity commission to be one of the least effective in the country.

Table 2: Comparison of state anti-corruption commissions 2012 – 2016

Body

People referred to DPP

Public hearings

Corrupt conduct findings

Findings against MPs and ministers

NSW ICAC

76

28

123

12

WA CCC

47

3

n/a

0

Qld CCC

32

0

n/a

0

SA ICAC*

16

n/a

n/a

0

Vic IBAC

6

4

n/a

0

Tas IC

0

0

0

0

Sources: Annual reports of NSW ICAC, Qld CCC, Vic IBAC, SA ICAC, WA CCC and Tas IC *Note SA ICAC does not have the power to hold public hearings, and was only operational in 2013

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